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GraemeSkinner

Member

From: Eden Hall, Cumbria

Registered: 2004-02-20

Posts: 563

Website

Re: Comet Bradfield - nearly live on SOHO

Noticed a post on uk.sci.astronomy newsgroup that I thought might be of interest to some. Comet Bradfield is visible at the moment on the SOHO camera.

You can get realtime updates [http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/512/]here from the SOHO website

Graeme
- I can remove the image from this post if it annoys people and just post a link instead.

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There was a young lady named Bright.
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
in a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
--Arthur Buller--

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Comet Bradfield - nearly live on SOHO

*Yep.  Can also keep tabs on this at spaceweather.com.

Astronomy Picture of the Day (which is achived daily) included this bit of information:

"Along with T7 (LINEAR) and Q4 (NEAT), Comet Bradfield is now the third comet that is currently visible in the sky with the unaided eye (I presume they mean for southern hemisphere viewers, at night!), the most ever of which we are aware and quite possibly the most in recorded history."  Erm...actually, I think they're wrong; other news sources say T7 -isn't- yet visible to the unaided eye and may never be.  Anyhow...

They're certainly watching to see if Bradfield will break up as it gets closer to Sol.

Here's a tidbit from spaceweather.com:  "If Comet Bradfield survives, northern sky watchers can see it beginning April 24th or thereabout. It will join Comet LINEAR (C/2002 T7) in the constellation Pisces just above the eastern horizon at dawn. Both comets could be visible to the unaided eye."

--Cindy

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040209.html]Comet T7 (LINEAR)...includes links to Q4 as well

[http://cometography.com/lcomets/2001q4.html]Comet Q4 (NEAT)

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Comet Bradfield - nearly live on SOHO

*Animation (too lovely!):

From the good folks at spaceweather.com:  "On April 17th, Comet Bradfield (C/2004 F4) was only 0.17 AU from the Sun, well inside the orbit of Mercury. Intense solar heat caused the comet to vaporize furiously, forming a spectacular tail of dust and gas. This 3-day coronagraph movie of the flyby (right) comes from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory."

Looking closely at the entire field, there's other activity going on as well (those faint streaks here and there, throughout...unless it's some sort of distortion?)

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

GraemeSkinner

Member

From: Eden Hall, Cumbria

Registered: 2004-02-20

Posts: 563

Website

Re: Comet Bradfield - nearly live on SOHO

That animation is excellent, I don't know if the other quick streaks are distortions or just small items hurtling past. I've just looked at the latest SOHO image and only the very tip of the tail is visible now. Hopefully it will make another trip through the camera's field of view.

Graeme

---

There was a young lady named Bright.
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
in a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
--Arthur Buller--